My First Giveaway – A Money Saving Printer

This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who participated. Your overwhelming support was highly appreciated!

And the winner is: Pam at Day Song Reflections . Congratulations, Pam!

Please check out her blog and while you are here...some of my other posts :-)

Note: I used the random number generator at mathgoodies.com to select the winner...cool tool.



“Let’s print one out” suggests The Hamster.

“Ah…sure” (Guess I should buy a six pack of ink at this rate – that would cost…how much?!)

Whether your child goes to school or you home school, you probably find yourself printing out a wide variety of materials for your child. Where we once used reference books and encyclopedias, we now use the web. Where we once laboriously copied from a magazine, we now print out. Where we once used elbow grease we now use ink….lots of it.

So, my first blog giveaway is…a printer that doesn’t use less ink but rather…the ink is lots cheaper – the Kodak Easy Share 5300 printer. I’ve been using this for a few weeks now and while it uses the same amount of ink, more or less than my HP, the ink cartridges are $ 9.99 for black and $14.99 for color…yes, you read that right!!!!! Good-bye $20.00 ink cartridges. It's a great printer too...just check out this review from a techy type.

So...do you want a $199.00 printer? For free? The Kodak Team has supplied me with one to giveaway.

It’s easy to enter this contest. Just fill in the Mister Linky Box below. That’s it. You'll be entered to be the one lucky winner who gets this printer. I’ll be selecting the one winner on November 7th.

(Just for fun…and if you need, as I sometimes do…an idea for a post, you can also post a picture on your site of a school project or something you printed out for school, home school or just about anything for your kids and link back to this post. Send me an e-mail and I’ll feature your picture and a link to your post on my blog.)

But, remember you just need to enter your name and URL in the Mr. Linky Box to have a chance to win. (If you don't have a blog, just enter your email address beside or instead of your name.)



THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED


BTW- I’ll give you an update on Kodak's marketing strategy behind this a little later in the week…it’s a break from the razor and razor blade strategy and a move to the “make it up in volume” strategy. I’ll link back here.

This giveaway is part of the Fall, Y'all Bloggy Giveaway at Shannon’s Place.

It will also be featured at Laura Williams Musings

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A Reader asks…Where to Buy Organic Cotton for Older Children

Since sometimes readers ask really good questions in my comments and sometimes they get lost…especially when I am particularly loquacious. So, I thought I might start posting them since….unfortunately, I don’t have all of the answers in the world. (Don’t tell my DS.)

I’m hoping some of you, my intelligent and informed readers, might have some ideas…probably, no defiantly, better than mine!

Here’s Kelly’s question:

Hi there,

Just wanted to say I love your blog, so much info..its great. I do have a question however. There are so many places to find organics for babies/toddlers..now what about older kids..my daughter is 8 and I would like to find some organic pj's,underwear and perhaps some sheets for her bed. It has been hard to find natural things for older kids, especially tolietries too. Any info you have would be great. Thanks!



Here's my answer:


Kelly,

That's a great question...I've wondered about that too.

Bed, Bath and Beyond carries "Simply Organic" brand of sheets and bedding.

Some of the usual suspects...Patagonia…L.L. Bean, etc. have some organic clothes.

I also have picked up a few shirts etc at Wild Oats, Whole Foods and other odd places.


Now – where else?

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Clay Play

There is more to clay than just modeling,.

Squishing, squashing, drying and reconstituting – a multitude of ways to play.

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Quick and Easy Halloween Mask Craft

Last weekend we went to a family Halloween party.

Apparently my cover as a “crafty person” has yet to be blown since I was asked to bring a craft activity for the attending kids. Despite the fact that I had at least a month to prepare for this I waited until the week before to get serious about devising a craft.


And then…my DS unexpectedly was off school.

For the whole week.

Inside with me.

Which sort of blew my plans.

And so, of course, 5 short hours prior to the party, I found myself at Michael’s purchasing the needed supplies.

And of course, after all of my scrambling we didn’t get to the craft during the party because the kids were having too much fun running from one end of the house to the other.

And, of course…it really was an awesome and well beloved craft as I found out the next day when I sprang it on my DS and the neighbor children as an afternoon no particular reason activity. At least the participants seemed to think so.




Sometimes things just work out.

Halloween or Anytime Mask Craft

Supplies all available at most craft stores

White Plastic Masks (or Foamie Masks)

Halloween themed Foamies

Foamie markers.

Cheap, quick and decidedly not crunchy.

In retrospect, to be a bit more eco, I should have used fabric masks, also available at craft stores, pre-cut pieces of felt and fabric markers. That would have fulfilled my crunchy needs and been more comfortable for the wearer. Ah, well…one can’t always be crunchy…or at least I can’t.


Visit Scribbit's Winter Bazaar for more ideas!

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My Sweet Treat

Bridget at Miles to Go Before we Sleep graciously awarded me the "One Sweet Treat to Read" award last week. It's a nice fit with Halloween don't you think?

I'm going to pass this on to:

Jane at My Many Colored Crayons

Gift of Green

and Jennifer at Eco Child's play

Don't forget to check out Miles to Go Before we Sleep too - it's an interesting blog about a family of 5 with two autistic children and one adoptee from China on the way.


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Safe and Healthy Halloween Treats Under a Dollar

Each year instead of candy, we give out small trinkets and toys for Halloween. I’ve thought about handing out food that is not candy but, that inevitably gets one labeled as: “the place they give out healthy stuff”; never a good thing in children’s minds. (It tends to be expensive too!)

Instead we choose to distribute cheap, plastic inexpensive toys So far, the toy distribution has worked well. I have a whole bag ready for this year. However….as I dig through the bag of Halloween treats I find myself mumbling,

“Hmmm…could be phthalates in this rubber ball”

”Oh, I wonder if this is lead paint?”

“This could be a choking hazard”

“ What junk!”


Sigh. I purchased most of the small trinkets at the dollar store last year then wrote this post.
Now I find many of the items on my list downright scary! So, as I get ready for Halloween this year, I again find myself again cruising the web for a list of inexpensive alternatives to candy. This time though it’s alternatives to candy, dangerous toys and made in China.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon a few great ideas. Crunchy Domestic Goddess gives her Halloween recommendations here. Green Halloween.org is filled with hundreds of ideas for greening Halloween.

A number of items on these lists are though…shall we say…out of my price range. I want to give out healthy Halloween treats and not blow my budget doing it. So, I’ve created my own list of inexpensive trinkets to distribute on Halloween. Most can be purchased at your local craft or sewing store. Most are under a dollar. Some can be found in your back yard for free. None contain lead, phthalates, cadmium or hopefully any other scary chemicals. Check for made in China though…no guarantees on that!

Enjoy!


Pipe cleaners
Wooden beads
Small polished rocks
Bags of buttons
Wooden animals
Wooden craft people
Seashells
Crystals
Bookmarks
Fabric masks
Craft Miniatures
Acorns
Band-aids WITHOUT characters
Feathers
Large marbles
Tiny balls of yarn
Packets of seeds
Wooden tops
Paper fans

The Green Halloween logo appearing on the top of this post is a trademark of Green Halloween.org. Go visit them for more great eco-friendly Halloween ideas!

For more great Works for me Wednesday ideas visit Rocks in My Dryer

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Urgent Recall? – It’s About Time! Halloween Toy Hazards Finally Recognized

Well, thank you mainstream media.

A few weeks ago I wrote this post, Take That out of your mouth – Toy Recalls hit Halloween, wondering about phthalates in those scary vampire teeth our kids get hold of on Halloween. I followed up a little later with this one, What’s Halloween without Something Scary? and pleaded with the mainstream media to use their resources to find out what’s in these things. Guess I'm not required reading in the news room :-(

Well, it looks like someone heard my call. Urgent Call For Recall Of Halloween Toys, appeared on CBS News this morning. This article specifically mentions those scary teeth, though the recall is based on lead content, not phthalates…perhaps the researchers at Ashland State who did the testing had a different brand?

Anyway, I’m staying away form all of those Halloween trinkets this year. Keep your eye on the Consumer Product Safety Commission site for recall announcements.

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Cupcakes Not Treat Bags for Halloween

As we head into the most candy laden time of the year my not-quite-crunchy heart begins to cringe. To make matters worse, at my DS’s new school, unlike at his old one, candy is allowed! And, I found out, October is a particularly sweet filled month. Parents can bring in treat bags to school to hand out for Halloween. As so many kindergarten parents want to bring them, my DS’s teacher suggested we spread it out so the kids don't OD on candy on Halloween day. Great.

Since I have this candy thing, (my dad being a dentist, my parents never bought candy for us...Santa and The Easter Bunny brought it and we got some on Halloween but that was it...more or less and I have followed family tradition) I wasn't sure how to handle this "treat bag" thing.

At school parents have daily started bringing in little plastic bags stuffed with candy and small (phthalate and lead filled, made in China I'm sure) Halloween trinkets. I’ve been cool. That was OK, I can handle this with some judicious use of the Candy fairy…until my DS requested I make some treat bags too.

Hmmm…

My solution, as was my parents was homemade organic, cupcakes (OK- they bought theirs from the bakery – but the concept is the same). The Hamster was pleased.

So, on Sunday we ran to Wild Oats to buy the organic cake and icing mix for cupcakes. You can, of course also make them from scratch using organic ingredients. Here’s a low sugar recipe here.

We decorated them with somewhat orange-ish-brown-ish icing (we used the natural food coloring…with which I’ve never had good results ...I'm going back to the chemical and preservative laden kind) and decorated them with organic candy, my one concession.

But, of course, there was no school Monday (Fire Day) and we had 30 cupcakes in the car for the kids. We ended up walking around the campus and handing them out to the teachers and supervisors there, as well as to the few kids who had been dropped off for "before school" care, and now were waiting for parents to come back and pick them up! We managed to distribute most of them but, now we have to remake them when school reopens!

Sigh…the best of intentions….

Visit the Carnival of Family Life, hosted at Little Legends.

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Pink Skies Over Catalina...at Last!

The fires are subsiding. The smoke is clearing.

For the first time in days, the sunset is a healthy pink... not an unhealthy orange.

All is well.

(or at least better)

Become a Photo Hunter. View Blogroll


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Switching Mid-stream – Going Organic One Step at a Time.

With an eye to making it easier for the average American family to go organic, Dr. Greene, a pediatrician, has written Raising Baby Green. Though I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, it popped up in a The NY Times article, 5 Easy Ways to go Organic .(I really love the “most popular” sections on most news websites these days…don’t you?)

To my dismay, I discovered that Dr. Greene’s
recommendations for going organic vary from the ones I’ve discussed in prior posts . Not significantly but, one of my favorite pesticide villains, strawberries, isn’t even listed!

I shouldn’t be surprised; expert opinion tends to be that…opinion. If the Supreme Court experts can, with annoying frequency, be divided 5-4 on legal opinions, I guess experts in other fields can too.

But wait…that’s not it at all. Dr. Greene doesn’t differ in opinion. He differs in approach. Despite my claim to parent in the middle, I’ve been told, to my consternation that I am a “purist”. Most recently (yesterday) by my mainstream sister as we discussed how she might improve her daughter’s eating habits while maintaining enough junk food in the house to satisfy the cravings of the rest of the family members.

I’ve concluded she’s right. (Well, duh, I thought you were a college graduate MC!) It’s a wee bit harder to start going organic when you’re already immersed in the dominant eating culture. The last thing you need is some sanctimonious not-quite-crunchy parent going on and on about buying healthy foods when she lives within a few minutes of 4 or 5 specialty stores that stock organic and natural foods….sorry Elle!

So, let’s go back to Dr. Greene. ( BTW- do you think he changed his name or this is just a happy coincidence?) Now that grocery stores across the country stock an ever increasing array of organic foods, which should parents buy organic or avoid buying altogether? Dr. Greene’s top 10 choices:

Organic Milk
Organic Potatoes
Organic Peanut butter
Organic Baby food
Organic Ketchup
Cotton – as in avoid cotton seed or unidentified oils
Organic Apples
Organic Beef
Organic Soy
Organic Corn

Dr. Greene is up front with his philosophy – lets’ see where one can make the biggest difference., Ketchup and apples, milk, potatoes and peanut butter are on his list because….those are items that we Americans consume…a lot. Ergo – change these few things and you’ve made a big impact on your diet! The same goes for baby food which is what babies eat…ummm…besides milk/ formula that’s all they eat.

The other 4 items on his list, I’d say are a bit harder for the average American to buy organic and...he agrees. Organic beef is expensive and he details the complicated reasons and sleuthing required to avoid non-organic soy, corn and cotton.

Purist I may appear to be but….I didn’t know potatoes were something I should buy organic and organic beef isn’t in the budget. But, I can certainly start reading labels a little closer and avoid corn and cotton and stick with organic KAMPP (Ketchup, Apples, Milk, Potatoes and Peanut butter).

Let’s start a movement…can we call it going to Kammp?

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The California Chaparral – a Fire Inspired Science Lesson

Day 5 of the fires; day 4 of no school

chaparral, a semi-arid, shrub dominated association of plants shaped by summer drought, winter rain and intense wildfire.

We’ve been out of school a few days now. We don’t actually live that close to the fires but, The Hamster’s not-quite-crunchy school is a little further south and surrounded by now very dry, chaparral (that’s what is driving these fires by the way) and therefore…closed.

Yesterday we ventured out long enough to drive to The Natural History Museum in LA. I love this museum anyway and its strategic location, pretty much as far away from the fires in both Malibu and Orange County to ensure better, if not great air quality, made it a good choice. It is also…inside.

Since we go there often, we have explored much of the museum. Yesterday though, we wandered off into a new area tucked upstairs dedicated to the California Chaparral. There are, of course, no pictures on the web site but I found this description:

A unique exhibit, "Chaparral: A Story of Life from Fire," demonstrates fire's importance in the life cycle of chaparral through a multi-media presentation that surrounds the visitor with the sights, sounds and even the smells of a chaparral ecosystem.

Wow, how timely! Though small, one room 3 dioramas and a video actually, we took home a little bit better understanding of what has been occurring the last few days.

The NHM brief however, is perhaps, somewhat misleading as I found as I started to research further. (This excessive research is really a bad habit I’ll have to break someday…nah.)

Many of us here in California, as well as elsewhere believe that chaparral (which is, of course southern California’s primary eco-system) needs fire to stay healthy. Not so, says, The California Chaparral Institute a fairly awesome website dedicated to the study of this wilderness, with great resources for teaching. Yes so, say a variety of news reports being floated around here and here and on the nightly news.

Digging through the conflicting news reports, here’s what I think I believe and what I’ve shared with the Hamster. Yes, the chaparral is adapted to wildfires….but every 30 to 100 years (this seems to depend on which scientist you consult) not every 5 or 10 as we have now. Some chaparral plants have adapted to the wildfires and have seed cases that need intense heat to burst. But, like many eco systems there is a natural cycle. In this case it seems to be….fire bursts seed cases, little sun loving flowers grow and are eventually overshadowed by larger tress and shrubs blocking out the sun. This creates brush on the floor of the chaparral and a canopy (of the small sort, not like a rain forest canopy for goodness sakes…get that image out of your mind) above.

After a large number or years (30 to 100, remember) the forest floor is covered with brush and those hard little seed cases (which need heat to break open). A wildfire caused by lightening (hopefully) runs through the chaparral and the cycle starts again.

Not to tough really. What is different now is the frequency of fires which may or may not be caused by Global Warming which has lead to drought conditions across the southwest. (I’m not above playing the global warming card though if it cuts down on pollution.) These more frequent fires cut down the, still immature, larger trees and shrubs which anchor the earth which, as some of you may remember from earlier fires….leads to landslides during the winter rains which follow this dry, fire season.

What’s also different is the amount of development i.e. rather than fire whipping through the desolate chaparral it is unfortunately whipping through people’s homes. With the root systems of older trees not still in place to hold the earth homes topple down the hills in the rains.

As I explain all of this to The Hamster, I find myself carefully examining my own feelings about development, ecology and conflicting interests. You may want to do so too before launching into a discussion. Those little buggers tend to come up with the knottiest questions mid explanation..

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Fire Day Activities - What to Do When The Kids Are Unexpectedly Home From School

Thirteen things to do during a rain, snow or in my case Fire Day

It’s day five of the California fires. For us it’s day four without school.

As I wrote about yesterday , the air quality in much of Southern California is terrible because of the ash and smoke therefore most parents are keeping their children inside after school. Many of us closer to the fire area are keeping our children home FROM school.


I should explain, for those of you in colder climes, much of Southern California is outdoor-based, down to the schools. I remember being amazed on my first trip to California at 12, that schools were less a building and more a series of buildings…even at the elementary level…a campus rather than a building. So, keeping the children “inside” at school is a bit tricky.

The other somewhat unique thing in this day and age is the lack of air conditioning in many, many homes in the coastal communities. (This often includes homes priced in the millions.) This is usually fine, since we leave the windows open and enjoy the sea breezes. This is not OK when it’s 90 degrees and we have to keep the windows closed due to the air quality.

All of the above creates the quandary I discussed – that is, entertaining a child home from school. Fortunately my readers came to my rescue (and my always creative, friend Tan who sent her suggestions via e-mail). Here are some great ideas for entertaining children during “fire Days’ but hey…you might just want to drag these out when school is closed for any reason.


1. Make colored ice cubes - kids really enjoy mixing colored ice-cubes in baggies. It sounds silly and way too easy, but they constantly beg to do it. Just make colored ice-cubes by dropping a few drops of food coloring in before the water freezes. Then let them pick whatever colored ice-cubes they want and put them in a baggie. As the cubes melt, the colors mix. You could vary the activity by letting them put the ice-cubes in the tub too.

2. Get out blankets and boxes and have a camp out

3. Make freezer cookies – so as not to heat up the oven. Gift of Green – how do you do this? I like the idea!

4. Create a theme for the day and think of things to do around the theme

5. Visit a bouncy house and play space. Lots of these types of places usually open for birthday parties and such also have days for the general public

6. Visit Aquariums (not zoos unfortunately)

7. Go to the Mall before opening hours...Most malls are open at 8am, even though the shops don’t open till much later. This is a favorite “rainy day” activities as the kids can run wild down the walkways without disturbing anyone or damaging anything. Another advantage...indoors and air-conditioned.

8. Go to Barnes & Noble, Borders and most bookstores for story time. This can however get expensive if your child is anything like mine and wants to buy 50 books.

9. Go to the library…this is cheaper and they often have story time too.

10. Go to a museum – in my case, this will be any that are all inside and away from the fire zone

11. Go to an art place for kids – We have a few of the ceramic painting places nearby

12. Visit Costco...indoors, air-conditioned and free samples (YUMMMMMM!!!)

13. Get a book or video and learn something new together. I just picked up Drawing with Children , which is a fun way to teach your children (and you) how to draw.

I also did a little searching and found a number of sites that have suggestions including this one .

OK- I have a few, rather more important, thoughts on the fire than how to keep my kid entertained. I’ll probably get to them later today (maybe, maybe not – kids from home from school…no time…remember?) Stay tuned.

BTW- though I didn't take this picture...this is exactly what the moon looked like last night over our house...bright orange from all of the smoke.

More Thursday Thirteen



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What We Did on Our “Fire Days” - Rhythm

We are on day four of the fires and day three home from school on a... “fire day” here in Southern California. My DS whose not quite crunchy school is located in a pretty crunchy (as in filled with dried out trees and grasses) canyon and so, the school has been closed for the past few days. It’s not anywhere near the fire zone but has been closed as a precaution since we still have fire conditions all over the area.

The air quality all over the LA area is also pretty bad and so, children are advised to stay inside and drive their parents absolutely bonkers. No, wait, it didn’t say that but, in effect that is what happens when you have unexpected days off (those of you from colder climates may find this analogous to “snow days”.) Planned days off you can, well…plan. Unplanned days off are fine for a day or two, you can wing it. By day three though, you better get that planning hat on and figure out what to do.

Unfortunately, unlike snow days, we can’t just bundle the kids up and send them outside to enjoy the unexpected white stuff for a few minutes and then come back in to share hot chocolate….which having grown up in a much colder climate I know takes about 3 hours with all the bundling and un-bundling. The white stuff we have here is ash and “running around” is not recommended, even for those without allergies or asthma…which actually is quite a few children these days…but that’s another story.

So yesterday I planned. I did so following the principle of rhythm, I learned at our local Waldorf School. Inhale-exhale is how it is usually described.

The schedule I roughed out for the day rotated quiet activities and rowdier or more energetic ones. Reading was followed by putting on a CD and dancing; playing with blocks was followed by hide and seek. Drawing was followed by gymnastics of a sort.

I found it’s a tougher to implement this quiet play/energetic play thing when the kids can’t go outside and it’s 85 degrees inside since, living in a coastal community…you have no air conditioning and CANNOT open the windows because of the lousy, fire related air quality! On the other hand playing in the bathtub fit right in with our schedule.

We may have a few more days of this so I’m getting prepared. Not quite crunchy parents of course don’t have the ultimate back-up…hours of TV viewing…but, that set sure is looking tempting. I may have to schedule in the National Geographic video I picked up at the library…just in case.

Meanwhile…breathe in, breathe out…both figuratively and literally.

For more great Works for me Wednesday ideas visit Rocks in My Dryer



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A Simple Halloween Spider

Here’s another fairly simple Halloween craft.

Take two pieces of felt cut in an oval shape. Sew them together tightly, leaving a small opening at one end. Sew two button or bead eyes on one end of the oval and stuff with sheep’s wool or polyfill. Sew up the open end. You now have your spider’s body.

Next cut black pipe cleaners in half. (Spiders have eight legs so you’ll need 4 pipe cleaners.) Stick the ends of the pipe cleaners into the body between the stitches. You may have to add a few stitches to tighten the legs. Bend legs appropriately and attach spider to places around your house where they are sure to brush against visitors heads!

Visit Scribbit's Winter Bazaar for more ideas!

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Here's to Ugly Fruit! A Photo of Our Homegrown Organic Lemon

Apples (and lemons) used to be round-ish and not so shiny. Now they are perfectly shaped and perfectly shiny. No one wants ugly fruit. It takes energy and chemicals to make those perfect apples. But if it’s not perfect, no-one wants it.Except for those that want organic. Remember when fresh food was just called food? Now it’s organic. It costs more. So now you’ve got to work harder to make more money to buy organic ‘environmentally friendly’ fruit. Working harder begets a better job begets more expensive vacations begets more consumption.If only we’d just eaten the ugly fruit.

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Home Testing for Lead…Forget About It!

An article at CBS news this morning captures my feeling on home lead testing kits.

The bottom line: You can't test these toys at home …

…which explains why I haven’t bothered to buy one of these kits.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission Study released a report today CPSC Staff Study: Home Lead Test Kits Unreliable which explains in detail their findings.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today announced the results of a special evaluation of consumer lead test kits. CPSC staff used commonly available test kits on a variety of paints and other products containing different levels of lead. Many of the tests performed using the kits did not detect lead when it was there (false negatives); some indicated lead was present when it was not (false positives). Of 104 total test results, more than half (56) were false negatives, and two were false positives. None of the kits con